The Serpent vs The Lion
by Bonnie Celt
Summary: Dumbledore brings an American exchange student to Hogwarts and she peaks Draco interest, that is before either of them find out she's related to a certain Muggle-born Gryffindor! Draco/OC pairing
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Professor Minerva McGonagall had done a lot of things for Dumbledore in her time as Deputy Headmistress, but this topped all. She was at the _airport_! London's Heathrow Airport! But she was on school business. It was probably for the better though, Dumbledore more than likely would have sent Hagrid if she had refused. She was there picking up an exchange student from America that Dumbledore insisted on inviting to Hogwarts. McGonagall was worried that the student's parents would not allow their child to come to England for school; most would not. However, it turned out that the student in question was an orphan and had no known family.

Suddenly, McGonagall saw the student. A roughly sixteen year old girl with wavy brown hair came out of the terminal wearing the Statue of Liberty tee that was agreed upon for identification. McGonagall was wearing a green Muggle suit and a matching hat (though not her usual witch's one).

"Annalise?" she asked as the approached the teen.

"Pro—I mean, Ms. McGonagall?" she replied.

"Yes, dear," said McGonagall. "I'm taking you to the hotel. Tomorrow, we're going shopping for your school supplies." Annalise's eyes grew wide with excitement at the prospect of shopping for her school stuff. They quickly found Annalise's two large suitcases and, hailing a cab, went to the hotel for the night.

The "hotel" turned out to be The Leaky Cauldron since it was an inn and tavern. Tom, the bartender took one of the suitcases and showed the two up to their rooms.

Tom set Annalise's suitcase on the floor in her room as they entered and told her not to hesitant in asking for anything. Annalise thanked Tom and he swept out with a bow, telling Pro. McGonagall her room was next door. As Annalise admired the antique furniture, McGonagall studied her closely, trying to figure out what made Dumbledore to adamant on having her come to Hogwarts. She was sure he had good reason, but, of course, he had not share it with her.

"Well, sleep well, dear." said McGonagall. "I would like to get an early start tomorrow."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annalise replied "I'll certainly try."

_ Well, at least she has good manners,_ thought McGonagall as she made her way to her own room.

The next day seemed to dawn bright and early to Annalise, but having always been an early riser; she hopped out of bed and quickly dressed in a pink and black argyle sweater and a grey skirt with black riding boots. She pulled half her hair back in a ponytail and slipped her favorite Celtic knot earrings in her ears. Quickly glancing at her reflection in the floor length mirror, she deemed herself presentable and dashed downstairs to find Pro. McGonagall. She found the professor at a corner table ordering breakfast. Annalise quickly sat down, gave her apologies for being late, and ordered an omelet, sausage, and biscuits with jam. During breakfast, Annalise and McGonagall discussed their plan of action for their excursion to Diagon Alley. They were off in half an hour and Annalise was thoroughly enjoying everything: the brick wall gateway, the quaint shops, the fascinating people. Cauldrons of every size and metal were in the window of the cauldron shop. A rainbow of robes could be seen from the windows of Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Broomsticks and sports uniforms were in one shop and the one beside it was spilling over with potion ingredients. Another shop called Flourish and Blotts was clearly a bookstore. Annalise could not wait to explore that one; she _loved_ books.

McGonagall took out the list of supplies and led Annalise to Madam Malkin's for school robes. Annalise felt bad about taking the scholarship for needy students to pay for her school supplies, but Pro. Dumbledore had insisted that she come. So, with no one to leave behind, Annalise had accepted his offer. She smiled happily as Madam Malkin pinned the hem of her new black robes. The day went by in a blur, there was so much to see and do. Annalise kept turning her head every direction to see everything.

They got her cauldron since it was going to be the heaviest thing to carry. Annalise instantly fell in love with Flourish and Blotts, though. McGonagall took her just so she could see the store since Dumbledore planned to test her to find out what level she was on. Books on every magical subject possible filled the shelves and had to be stacked on the floor. Every corner was jam packed. She and McGonagall wove through the crowds of young wizards and their parents, and Annalise marveled at the volumes surrounding her. Even though they were not there to get her books, Annalise did treat herself to a leather bound journal with the money she had gotten changed in Gringotts the wizard bank at the end of the street. McGonagall had taken her there so see could see it was well.

Now heavy laden with supplies, including large truck to replace Annalise's tattered suitcases, McGonagall and Annalise made their way back to The Leaky Cauldron. McGonagall had surprisingly enjoyed her day with Annalise. She had heard that Americans had a tendency to be proud or arrogant. Annalise was neither. She was quiet, polite, and respectful. She had proven herself eager to learn and smart. McGonagall's original misgivings were quickly disappearing. She and Annalise immediately took their burdens up to the girl's room and deposited it on the bed. McGonagall looked down at her watch. It was after one already!

"Oh, Merlin, look at the time! We'd better run down and see what Tom is serving for lunch." She said motioning for Annalise to follow. Just as they sat down, a tall man with long silver and hair and beard and half-moon spectacles came in.

"Finished already, Minerva?" he called gently.

"Pro. Dumbledore! I didn't expect you so soon!' said McGonagall. "Annalise this is Pro. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts." Annalise rose and shook his hands.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my dear." He said warmly. Annalise thanked him and sat down. "I take it you two ladies were about to have lunch," he continued as he sat down. "Hope you don't mind of I joined you?"

"Of course not, Professor." McGonagall answered. "When do you plan to test Annalise?" she asked when Tom had taken their orders.

"As soon as possible; after lunch preferably." He answered. "Don't fret, it's nothing to worry about." He smiled at the young witch who looked nervous at the mention of testing so soon.

His warm smile put Annalise at ease and she was able to enjoy her lunch with her professors. When Tom finally cleared the dishes away, Dumbledore took out his wand, waved it, and some papers appeared before him. These he gave to Annalise telling her it was the written portion of her testing. It would cover her knowledge of history, potions, magic theories, and a smattering of a lot of other topics she may or may not have had yet such as Arithmacy, Divination, and Ancient Runes. Annalise took the papers and worked her hardest to answer the questions. Of course, there were some thing she could not do, like advanced Arithmacy and Divination. Two hours later, she had finished the test and Dumbledore took her into a parlor to test her spell casting abilities. Again, she gave Pro. Dumbledore everything she had. At the end Annalise was exhausted and Dumbledore awarded her a smile.

"Well, done, my dear, well done." He praised as she sank into one of the chairs. Dumbledore was impressed with the young American. "Pro. McGonagall will let you the classes you are cleared to take when you sign up at Hogwarts for classes. You might want to lie down for a bit, Annalise." The tired girl nodded with a soft smile.

"And you might want to get to bed early," said McGonagall. "I don't want to be rushed to get to the station on time."

Annalise rose. "Yes, ma'am." She answered as she started to traipse up to her room. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Headmaster." She smiled as Dumbledore shook her hand good-bye. When Annalise had left, Dumbledore turned to McGonagall.

"Can you now see why I asked her to Hogwarts?"

"I suppose." replied McGonagall. "She is a brilliant witch, but I don't see why she _had_ to come to Hogwarts."

"You are right; her talents in magic are not the only reason I had for bringing her to Hogwarts."

**Chapter 2**

Sixteen year old Draco Malfoy was alone in his compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express as he waited for his friends. He was deep in thought of what had happened over the summer when the door of his compartment had gently opened a bit. He turned to see a petite girl with brown wavy hair. She wore a white blouse, a long denim skirt, and black leather boots. "May join you? All the other compartments are full." She asked tentatively, revealing an American accent.

_ Oh great._ Draco thought sarcastically. With a sigh, he nodded his consent.

"Thanks so much!" she answered cheerfully as she stepped in and put her large leather messenger bag in the luggage rack overhead. "Annalise is my name, but you can call me Ann or Anna if you like." She introduced herself.

"Draco Malfoy" he revealed grudgingly. He could hear her accent and knew his father would not like him associating with foreigners, especially Americans. However, she _was_ kind of pretty. Chestnut brown wavy hair, emerald eyes, ivory pale skin, and a slender, willowy figure gave her an almost sprite-like appearance. She took out a book and began to read, a smile playing across her face every so often. Draco watched her loose herself completely to the world of the book, and the longer he studied her, the prettier he realized she was. He quickly shook his head to dismiss such thoughts and took out a book of his own. After a few minutes of not being able to concentrate, Draco stole another glance at his silent companion. He was just noticing the golden highlights in her hair that shone in the sunlight streaming in through the window when Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy showed up.

"Draco! We finally found you!" Pansy cried as she plopped herself into the seat beside Draco. Then she noticed Annalise. "Who is she?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm Annalise." She answered before Draco could. "Pleased to meet you." She held out her hand. Pansy just stared at it. Crabbe and Goyle exchanged confused looks. Since when did Draco let a complete stranger sit in his compartment?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 3

For the next two hours, the compartment was quiet, eerily quiet. Pansy kept throwing icy stares at Annalise, who pretended to not notice. Annalise continued to read her novel, and Draco pulled back out his own. Crabbe and Goyle both had comic books and Exploding Snap cards. When not glaring, Pansy doodled in one of her new textbook covers or joined Crabbe and Goyle in their games. It went on like this until the trolley came by around noon. The four Slytherins bought tons of sweets, but Annalise just got one carton of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. As the others dug into the Licorice Wands, Caudron Cakes, and Pumpins Pasties, she reached up for her bag and pulled out a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water. Annalise sat back down and began to unwrap it, and the chatter that had started to break out at the presence of food, suddenly stopped.

"What is that smell?" Pansy asked in disgust as she inhaled the scent of peanuts.

Annalise looked up. "What, this?" Pansy nodded. "Uh, it's peanut butter."

"Peanut butter?"

"Yeah, it's made from peanuts. Would you like to try it?" Annalise offered, holding out a piece of her sandwich to everyone. Pansy wrinkled her nose at it, and Crabbe and Goyle shook their heads. Draco contemplated it for a minute.

"I'll try it." He decided and took the piece gently from her. He put and his mouth and started to chew, only it sort of stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was thick and salty. He finally swallowed it and decided in spite of the stickiness, he liked it. "Pretty good." He nodded. "Sticks to your mouth though."

"Yeah, it not as bad if you have jelly, but I wasn't sure that would be a good idea on a moving train." Annalise smiled.

"It probably wouldn't be." He answered. He was beginning to like this American, in spite of himself. She was easy to talk to; he was finding it hard to _not_ like her. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle, however, were giving her disgusted glances, as if they were asking themselves, _How can she be eating that stuff? _Annalise finished her sandwich and picked up her jelly beans.

"Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans? Hmm." Her eyes grew big as she read the list of flavors. She had never heard of some of them, having only eaten American Jelly Bellies. Draco caught the look on her face.

"What, never had Bertie Botts?" he asked. Annalise shook her head.

"Really?" Pansy asked, a hint of distain in her voice.

"We didn't have this brand back home. The biggest jelly bean brand was muggle Jelly Bellies." Answered Annalise. "Well, I guess this will be my first adventure here is trying insanely flavored jelly beans." Draco almost laughed at her for calling trying jelly beans an "adventure". However, he did laugh a little when she nearly choked on a spinach flavored one. The next two were fine as she announced them to be watermelon and popcorn. The next one, she quickly spat out into a napkin from her bag.

"What color was it?" Draco asked as Pansy shrieked and Crabbe and Goyle chuckled in glee at her expression of revulsion.

"Gray."

Pansy giggle insanely as Draco said "Booger."

Annalise's emerald eyes were huge. "You're joking right?" Draco shook his head. "Ug, that's absolutely disgusting!"

Pansy stopped laughing. "And you're _peanut butter_ wasn't?" she asked meanly.

"No. At least it's something normally eaten." Annalise replied calmly and took her novel back out before a fight ensued. Pansy huffed off to the ladies room, and Draco shook his head at her as Crabbe and Goyle returned to playing Exploding Snap. Draco though about asking about which house Annalise was going to be in, by then he thought she would probably be sorted with the first years. He almost asked which house she _wanted_ to be in, but, for some reason, did not.

A few hours later, after putting on school robes, they pulled into the Hogsmeade station.

"Well, it was lovely meeting ya'll." Annalise said as they departed.

_Ya'll?_ Draco thought as he nodded in reply. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle ignored her.

"I have to go with the first years over the lake. I'll see you guys later!" Annalise called over her shoulder and waved with a smile. Before he could stop himself, Draco found himself grinning and waving back. He was already wishing her to be sorted into Slythrin.

**Chapter 4**

Annalise quickly followed the sound of a booming voice calling for the first year students. After years of caring for the little ones in the orphanage, she found herself shepherding the young Brits in the right direction without thinking. She soon found the source of the loud voice: an eight and a half foot giant of a man with a wild black beard and hair carrying a huge lantern.

"Ah, you'd be Annalise." He said, seeing her head above the crowd of eleven-year-olds. "Welcome Briton and Hogwarts, Miss. I'm Rubius Hagrid"

"Thank you, Mr. Hagrid!" she called up to him. Suddenly she felt a tug on the sleeve of her robe. She turned to see a particularly small girl besided her.

"Why are here you here with us?" she asked.

Annalise smiled and crouched down to be at the girl's level. "Because I'm new here too. I have to be sorted just like you guys."

"Oh. Okay. I'm Emily Smythe." She answered.

"Pleased to meet you Emily, My name's Annalise." Annalise offered Emily her hand and they shook hands.

"To the boats now!" Hagrid suddenly shouted. "Follow me, and stick close!"

"Come on." Annalise said as she took Emily's hand. Hagrid lead them down a pebbly path to the lake's shore. Here, they all climbed into boats, four students each, except for Hagrid's, who had one to himself. They sailed out into the lake. Hundreds of stars shone overhead and were reflected in the lake's surface. Then they came around a bend, and the rest of the lake opened up before them. Across the lake on the opposite shore was a huge castle, aglow with light coming from every window. Annalise gasped and smiled appreciatively as she heard the collective intake of breath from those around her. It looked like it could have belonged to King Arthur. The very air around it glowed with magic, it seemed. They sailed right up to it, and through curtain of ivy that covered the entrance to the harbor. The boats were tied fast and they all disembarked. Hagrid lead them all up a set of stone stairs and knocked on the enormous oaken front doors. They swung opened to reveal Pro. McGonagall in green witches robes and pointed witches hat. She lead to the doors of the Great Hall and told them to wait. As a quiet murmur ran throughout the small crowd Emily tugged on Annalise's sleeve again.

"What do you think it will be like?" she asked tentatively.

"It's not as bad as you think." Said Annalise. "Pro. Dumbledore told me all we have to do is put the Sorting Hat and it was sort us depending on what it sees in us."

"What if it puts me in Slytheryn? All the bad witches and wizards came from there." Emily quavered.

"Well, then the tradition will be broken, and that house will have a fine student, to boot, won't it?" Annalise replied confidently. To this, the small eleven year old gave a smile and a nod. Just then, Pro. McGonagall returned with a scroll in her hand.

"Follow me please." She said, and as the huge hall doors swung open soundlessly, she lead the nervous first years and Annalise into the Great Hall. The Great Hall gigantic; far bigger than Annalise had imagined it would be. The was a huge fireplace on either side with a roaring fire crackling merrily. Four long tables crowded with students filled most of the hall. McGonagall led the new students up the middle aisle between two of the tables to the dias where another long table was occupied by the teachers and staff of the school. Just in front of it, McGonagal stopped where a wooden stool with a patched, frayed, dirty old hat sitting on it. She turned, unrolled her scroll, and picked up the hat. "When I call your name you will come forward and sit. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your Houses." She started with "Abbott, Micheal" who was a tall, blonde who nervously went up and sat on the stool. Almost immediately he was deemed a Ravenclaw. Next came "Alencar, Jo-anna" who was placed in Slytheryn.

Draco clapped lazily as he watched the Sorting. He had already seen several Sortings; he was bored. So, he decided to watch the new American as she waited for her turn. As he did so, he noticed a small red-head standing rather close to her. Her hair was too dark for a Weasley, but it still stood out in the crowd. The first year seemed to have already taken to Annalise, Draco could see, as she took the the older girl's hand and whispered something to her. Annalise smiled and whispered something back. Finally, toward the end, the little red-head's name was called. "Smythe, Emily" hesitantly stepped forward after a gently nudging on Annalise's part. She sat on the stool and McGonagall place the hat on her head. After a moment, it shouted that she was a Gryffindor. Around ten more first-years were called up and sorted, then McGonagall turned to the Hall.

"As you can see, we have one last student to sort." A murmur rippled through the Hall and Annalise felt every eye turn to her. She wished she could disappear; she hated being in a spotlight. However, she stood tall and held her head high. "At Professor Dumbledore's request, we are join this year by American Annalise Jones. She has been tested by the Headmaster and has been deemed right on level with our sixth-years. All that is left is her sorting. Miss Jones, if you please." McGonagall motioned her to the stool. She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and sat down on stool. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head, and there was complete utter silence as the Sorting Hat decided where to put the young American. More than a minute ticked by before the Sorting Hat shouted "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table broke out into cheers and clapping. Draco let out the breath he did not even realize he had been holding. For some reason, he really wanted for her to be Slytherin; even he did not know why he did. Never the less, he felt a sinking feeling as Annalise took her place at the Gryffindor table. Draco shook his head when he noticed that she was sandwiched between the Weasley girl and the muggle-born Granger. She would not even speak to him in a week; he was sure of it. Gryffindors and Slytherins had been bitter rivals for hundreds of years. Just then, Professor Dumbledore stood to address the school.

"I know this is something entirely new to all of you, having a foreign student on a permanent basis. However, I suggest you embrace the new experience and welcome Miss Jones just as you welcome any other student. " he said. "Miss Jones, on behalf of the staff, I bid you welcome to Hogwarts School. Now that the Sorting is out of the way, I dare you are all famished. Tuck in!" as he said the last two words, an incredible feast appeared at all of the tables. Annalise's eyes got huge.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl with bushy brown hair on her right.

"Dinner didn't just appear on the tables back home," replied Annalise. "Our dining halls were set up like a college. There were lines to go through and once you got your dinner, you found a table."

"Really?" both British girls asked. Annalise nodded.

"So, what's good?" the American asked, eyeing several dishes she could not recognize.

"Everything." Said the girl on the right who had introduce herself as Hermione. So, Annalise decided on some roast beef, red potatoes, and steamed green beans. Just when everyone thought they could eat no more, the dishes melted away and were replace by deserts. Annalise, who as fairly full at this point, went for raspberry sherbet as Hermione and Ginny ate something called treacle tart.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Hermione and another Gryffindor name Ron Weasley led Annalise and the first years up to Gryffindor Tower. They went down a hallway untill they came to the huge portrait of a lady in a pink satin gown.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked.

"There's a password to get in," said Hermoine to the crowd behind her. "It changes fairly regularly, so try to rememer it; you won't be able to get in the Tower otherwise." she turned back to the portrait. "Balderdash." she said, and the portrait swung forward on hidden hindges, reveiling a hole in the wall. Ron and Hermione went through, motioning for the first year to follow. Once inside, Annalise found herself in a round tower room covered in red and gold tapsteries. Red overstuffed chairs and a couch faced the fireplace and tables and chairs for homework were scattered around the room. Two spirl staircase wound upward to the next level of the tower. "Girl dormatories are up the left staircase, boys are up the right." said Ron. "There are signs to let you know which level is which year's dormatory."

"It's late and you all have a big day tomorrow, so I suggest you all head up for bed." Hermione said, shepparding the girls toward the dormatories. Ron just wearily headed up his staircase by himself, the boys slowly following him up. Annalise followed Hermione to her dorm, as her letter from Pro. Dumbledore told her to go up to the sixth-years's dorm. When they entered, they found the other sixth-year girls already getting ready for bed. Hermione introduce them, and Annalise went to her trunk, pulled out her nightgown and slipped it on in the ajoining bathroom. She came out and slid into bed and closed the curtains. She slowly fell asleep, but woke with a smothered feeling a few hours later. she quickly opened the curtains, allowing moonlight to flood her bed. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down. She did not know where that feeling had come from; she had never had claustaphobia. Maybe it just that she was not used to the heavy curtains surrounding her bed. However, she left them open and settled back down under the warm blankets and into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
